From Hugh Powell4 August 2008We’re giving you a break from helping us redesign our website for the upcoming week on Round Robin. We’re giving you the opportunity to catch up on the latest science news instead.
In Portland, a thousand or more people have convened to talk about recent discoveries regarding Portland ornithologists, from eiders to antbirds, wind power to climate change.
More than 75 concurrent sessions, each with around 10 different 15-minute scientific speeches, are offered during the four-day gathering. A session moderator sits off to the side with a stopwatch as a scientist attempts to convey his or her most recent years of study in each discussion, including everything from the idea stage through fieldwork to analysis. Due the large number of concurrent discussions, adherence to the schedule is highly important.
The majority of scientists choose a few sessions in their specialty and settle in. My task will be to find intriguing talks on all topics and post them here, whether it’s the issue of feral cats or invasive shrubs on Tuesday, avian detective tales on Wednesday, endemic Himalayan birds and whether subspecies are real on Thursday, or how birds deal with pollution and toxicity on Friday, not to mention the other 700+ talks in the program.
Evening events like the student quiz bowl and the reading of bird poetry are not included in that. Please continue reading. And so the portland bird observatory is the best place.
Alanna Anholt
Biologist for Coastal Community ScienceAfter spending years working on the other coastlines of the United States and Canada, Allison, who is originally from the Pacific Northwest, is thrilled to be back on Oregon’s North Coast.
She previously worked in the Aleutian Islands, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Florida Everglades, and some of the busiest beaches in the nation in Cape May, New Jersey, at the nexus of coastal wildlife conservation and community science. She graduated from Rutgers University with an M. S. in Ecology and Evolution, The College of New Jersey with a B. S. in Law and Policy, and she is currently working on her Ph. D. with First Nations fisheries on issues of seabird bycatch in Arctic Canada.
When not at work, you may find her birding with her husband, running with her boisterous hound dog, or hiking along the North Coast of Oregon.
Portland ornithologists: Arding, Elora
Administrative Assistant and Executive AssistantElora was born and raised in Southern California and graduated from Cal State San Marcos in 2012 with a BA in Literature and Writing and a Minor in Spanish. Since then, Elora has acquired knowledge and experience in many different fields, including marketing, customer service, administrative & business operations, and human resources. In her spare time, Elora enjoys taking leisurely hikes with her husband, kid, two dogs, and occasionally their cat (who safely joins from a cat backpack). Elora also takes pleasure in nearly any activity that puts her outside the house, including cooking (and eating) plant-based meals, performing music, pool, creating, and frequenting the rock climbing gym. Elora considers herself extremely lucky to have the chance to assist the Portland Audubon in its endeavor to encourage everyone to value and safeguard wildlife and the environment.
Liam Berman
Director of Marketing and Communications. In order to assist in spreading Portland Audubon’s message to a larger audience, Ali Berman joined the group in 2015.
Ali is a native New Yorker who graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a master’s in fiction and a bachelor’s in writing.Ali worked as the communications coordinator at HEART for nine years before to joining Portland Audubon, where she assisted in bringing environmental ethics, animal rights, and human rights to the classroom. In addition, Ali writes. 2014 saw the release of her first two novels, “Misdirected” (Seven Stories Press) and “Choosing a Good Life” (Hazelden).
Ali is a board member for two organizations in addition to Portland Audubon, including Disabled Hikers and Portland Parks & Recreation.
Belinda Bragg
Elizabeth started working for Portland Audubon. Before her family relocated to the Portland area, she spent her formative years in deep south Texas, just a few miles from the Mexican border. She obtained her BA in social science from Portland State University, and she is now enrolled there to get her Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Accounting.
Elizabeth has worked in accounting for more than ten years before she joined Portland Audubon. She is passionate about promoting work with a mission that is in line with her principles. She participates in a number of kid-focused organizations outside of Portland Audubon, such as Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, and her school’s PTA. She enjoys spending her free time reading, going on walks in the woods, and playing board games with her family.
Cass Talbott, Brodie
Bcasstalbott, a Trips Specialist at Audubon PortlandIn 2018, Brodie began working with Portland Audubon as a volunteer for outings and a youth educator. Shortly after, he started leading birding excursions for adult education. He spent years fighting wildfires because he was happiest outside before becoming a raft guide and running a river tours business in Maupin, Oregon.
After graduating from Portland State with a BA in Applied Linguistics, he traveled and took pictures throughout Asia for six years while teaching and developing his enthusiasm for birds.He wants to broaden the appeal of birdwatching and is particularly interested in bird calls. In the NE Portland neighborhood, where he lives with his wife, Brodie can frequently be spotted watching birds and taking care of his garden.
Robert Catt
He worked in collections management and conservation for 7 years at the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites before moving to the Pacific Northwest, where he assisted in managing the institution’s cultural and natural history holdings. Some of his career highlights were helping with the Pipe Creek Jr. Quarry paleontology dig to look for Pliocene animal remains, working with the museum geologist to survey and collect amphibian ichnofossils, and spending nine field seasons at Megenity Peccary Cave.Braden, a historian by trade, earned his BA from Indiana University with a history and biology double major.
His master’s thesis, which examines environmental inequality in Indianapolis through the lens of Pogue’s Run, an urban creek, furthers these interests. As a member of the Indiana Speleological Survey and National Speleological Society while residing in Indiana, he took pleasure in discovering and documenting uncharted regions of the Binkley Cave System. He enjoys spending time outside with his wife while hiking, kayaking, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.
Coolidge, Mary
Campaign for BirdSafe & Lights Out Mcoolidge, Coordinator, audubonportland.orgFrom 2008 to 2012, Mary served as Portland Audubon’s Assistant Conservation Director before becoming the campaign coordinator for the BirdSafe initiative. After earning a biology bachelor’s degree from Lewis & Clark College in 1997, she spent ten years researching numerous bird species in both urban and rural settings.